Business Strike Dies

We identify dies with unique identifiers. For each year, the business strike obverse dies are identified with numeric
identifiers – 1, 2, 3, etc. We’ve attempted to sequence the dies such that obverse 1 is the first die used in a given
year, obverse 2 the second, etc. One word of caution – we froze these designators once the die marriages were
documented on our web site, but we expect that new die marriages will be discovered. When they are, we will add them
to the end of the sequence. Hence this sequencing won’t continue to represent the emission sequence if new die marriages
are discovered.

Business strike reverse dies are identified with alphanumeric identifiers – A, B, C, etc. Again, we’ve attempted to
sequence the dies such that reverse A is the first die used in a given year, reverse B the second, etc. As with the
obverse dies we froze these designators once the die marriages were documented on our web site. Reverse dies discovered
subsequently will be added to the end of the sequence, disrupting the emission sequence representation. An additional
level of complexity applies to the reverse dies. They were often transitional across multiple years. For these cases the
die is identified with its alphanumeric identifier in its first year of use. In subsequent years, the year of first use
is added to the identifier. Thus 1848 Reverse A, which is transitional across several years, is referred to as Reverse A
in 1848 and Reverse 1848 A in each subsequent year. If a die is discovered to be transitional to an earlier year after
the die marriages have been documented on our web site the identifier will be changed to reflect the correct first year
of use.

In order to reduce any confusion that the discovery of new dies may produce we will include on our website an emission
sequence table for each year.

Proof Dies

Proof dies are identified in the same manner as business strike dies, but a P is added to the identifier. Obverse dies
are designated P1, P2, etc. Reverse dies are PA, PB, etc. Transitional proof dies are treated in the same manner as
transitional business strike dies. The first year of use is added to the designation in subsequent years. An example
is Reverse 1840 PA, which is used in most years through 1854.

In most cases proof dies were not used to strike business strikes. However, there are a few exceptions. See the section
Proofs vs. Business Strikes for a complete listing of the exceptions
that we have identified. When a die is used for both proof and business strikes we use the proof designator to identify
that die. As an example, the 1855 business strike die marriage is identified as die pair P1-PA since the same dies were
used to strike both the proof and business strikes.

Conventions

Miss Liberty's Breasts, Legs, Arms, and Hands

Miss Liberty’s features are identified as right or left based on the view of the collector. Thus her left breast is the
one which appears on the left side of the coin, anatomically her right breast.

Obverse Stars

The obverse stars are identified as right or left based on the view of the collector. The stars are identified individually
by counting from the lower left side. Thus, the star left of the rock on which Miss Liberty sits is star #1. The other
stars, moving in a clockwise direction, number 2 through 13. Star 13 is just above Miss Liberty’s foot.

The Eagle's Legs, Claws, and Wings

The eagle’s legs, claws, and wings are identified as right or left based on the view of the collector. Thus, the left claw
is the one which appears on the left side of the coin, anatomically the eagle’s right claw.

Reverse Lettering

The reverse letters, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and ONE DOL, are identified beginning with the U in UNITED and proceeding
clockwise through the last A in AMERICA, then moving to the O in ONE and proceeding to the right through the L in DOL.
The letters are numbered if required. For example:

&nbsp&nbsp•&nbsp&nbsp The last A in AMERICA is A3.
&nbsp&nbsp•&nbsp&nbsp The last S in STATES is S2.
&nbsp&nbsp•&nbsp&nbsp The D in DOL is D2.
&nbsp&nbsp•&nbsp&nbsp The O in DOL is O3.

The Letters in the Motto

The letters in the motto (IN GOD WE TRUST) are identified by referring to the letter and the word.
For example:

&nbsp&nbsp•&nbsp&nbsp The last T in TRUST.
&nbsp&nbsp•&nbsp&nbsp The O in GOD.